Thousands of store staff at the retailer Next have won a six-year fight for equal pay in a tribunal ruling that will be closely watched by UK supermarkets facing similar legal challenges (Financial Times £).
The employment tribunal ruling will benefit 3,540 claimants, who accused Next of paying its retail sales staff – who are overwhelmingly female – lower hourly wages than its warehouse workers, the majority of which are male (The Guardian).
Current estimates project the amount that Next will have to pay to be around £30m (Mail).
The ruling is likely to spook rival retail bosses as it marks the first claim of this type against a national retailer to secure a win (Telegraph £). Lawyers in this case are also representing more than 112,000 store staff across Asda, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Morrisons and Co-op in similar claims.
Vapes should only be sold from “behind the counter”, like cigarettes, and not be on display in shops, according to the British Medical Association (The Guardian).
Plant-based alternatives to meat are better for the planet and mostly healthier than products such as burgers and sausages made from animals, new research by the Food Foundation has found (The Guardian).
The Telegraph (£) takes a look at how Britain fell in love with posh meal deals. “Supermarkets are improving quality in a race to take on Pret, but there’s a catch,” the paper writes.
Sir Keir Starmer is seeking priority access to the German economy for British businesses in what the prime minister has called a “once-in-a-generation opportunity” to fix the country’s relationship with the EU (The Times £).
Business groups have urged the government not to raise taxes on UK plc in its efforts to close a £22bn hole in the public finances, after Sir Keir Starmer warned that those with “the broadest shoulders” would be targeted in the upcoming Budget (Financial Times £).
Labour has axed an “immediate justice” scheme that punished shoplifters and those committing antisocial behaviour by forcing them to carry out unpaid work in their local community (The Times £).
The Times (£) examines how supply chain shocks have changed the face of global trade, with disruptions from the pandemic to the Suez Canal blockage forcing businesses to rethink their stock-building patterns.
No comments yet